As a petition forces the UK Government into debating the possibility of an early general election, Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked from his position as Chancellor by Prime Minister Liz Truss.
With the three-hour debate set to be held on October 17, many will be tuning in to see what Parliament has to say about an upcoming election. However, due to protocol for debates on public petitions, no vote can be taken by MPs on this date to force an early election.
But, a question that has been surging in Google searches since the Chancellor news this afternoon is this - can the general public force an election for a new Government? Find out more below.
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Can the public force a general election in the UK?
The answer is one not many people will be happy to hear - no, we cannot force a general election. Due to the new Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, an election can be called by the incumbent prime minister at a time of his or her choosing, so long as parliament is dissolved within five years of its first meeting following the previous election.
The latest date for dissolution is in December 2024, meaning an election could be delayed as late as January 2025. A vote of no confidence by the rest of the Parliament can unseat a Prime Minister, but tends not to uplift the entire political party in charge.
The major concern with the new Act on dissolving Parliament is that the Government is taking away from the Commons the right to decide when parliament should be dissolved and instead giving the prime minister unconstrained power over elections.
The new Act also raises concerns relating to the role of the monarch. A prime minister ‘requests’ a dissolution, implying that the monarch can refuse that request. The circumstances in which that request might be refused are, however, ambiguous.
This means that if Prime Minister Liz Truss requests a dissolution, then King Charles III could well refuse this, and continue Parliament as it is. It gives more power to individuals, rather than the collective.
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